French Gaston Poisson Art Deco Oak Sideboard Buffet 1940

Fine and unusual cerused oak sideboard buffet with wonderful brass-wear, attributed to Gaston Poisson Undoubtedly made in Paris around 1940, this fine piece was executed in oak of fine timber with the strong figuring of the timber contrasting beautifully with the clean lines of the design itself. The planked and crossbanded top hangs over a broadly rectangular structure with rounded corners on the apron at the base. This combination of curves and straight lines also applies to the decoration used to adorn the piece, notably on the cast handles which employ concentric circles on the back plates and straight line pulls, and of course on the panelled cupboard doors with applied turned roundels, also of concentric circular design. There are four equally-sized drawers in the centre of the piece and then inside each of the cupboards is a single shelf. The edge of these shelves is finely inlaid, creating a sort of geometric camera film pattern, and this use of inlay on shelf fronts is a feature that is particularly associated with the fine designer Gaston Poisson along with the overall unusual design of this sideboard. A very finely executed mid century Art Deco sideboard that could be used in many rooms of the modern home. Pieces of this sort that can be firmly attributed to Poisson are rare and this piece provides a unique opportunity for the collector and connoisseur. Gaston Poisson (1877-1944): Active primarily in Paris, Gaston Poisson was both a furniture designer and interior decorator who is primarily associated with the Art Deco movement in France between the world wars. Poisson had a talent for blending traditional French decorative arts vocabulary with the newly emerging modern aesthetic, creating something entirely new in the process. Poisson first exhibited his designs immediately after WWI but his pieces gained much wider public recognition from the 1920s onwards. He exhibited at most of the major exhibitions of the period in France, most notably the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. Trademarks of his designs included the use of fine veneers and luxurious timbers, a meticulous attention to detail and fine proportions. Although an enthusiast for clean lines and geometric modernism, Poisson was also classically influenced and retained a love for great French design of the past. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Poisson was not particularly interested in creating flashy and obviously opulent pieces, preferring understated quality and seeing that as the true sign of luxurious production.